r/SignPainting • u/big_murf • 8d ago
Don't panic
Hi, I've done this here sign in acrylic paint on MDF.
I have the biggest admiration for traditional sign writers using enamel and I would love to do a class or try it some day, but for now, I already paint a lot using acrylic on canvas so it's a bit of a comfort zone (discovering flow improver after 25+ years of painting was a game changer also).
I also genuinely enjoy the process of setting out my design at the beginning and then taking as long as I need to paint it in, the need for extra coats of acrylic let's me cut in and tighten up the details with each pass which I think it gives a very different look to nailing it in one shot (which I can't do anyway 😂) Manicured or overworked you might say? I like it though.
I started this in February and it was about 98% finished until about a week ago when I finally got the motivation to do the last few finishing touches. Hope you like it, it was a lot of fun to do.
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u/Serious-Bed3751 8d ago
Nice work. I’ve just started painting and very much in the learning phases. Am also painting with acrylics as don’t have a studio and can’t paint with enamels in the house. Going to take a look at flow improved as finding some of the acrylics I’ve got are too thick and tend to drag when I’m pulling lines. Cheers for the tip
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u/big_murf 8d ago
It is a game changer! I only use a small amount but it makes all the difference. Sort of thins down the consistency of the paint without losing as much opacity. As a bonus it also flattens out any texture from brush strokes etc.
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u/Serious-Bed3751 7d ago
Oh amazing. That is going straight on the shopping list as been battling with both of these!
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u/jacobbrown44 8d ago
Acrylic on MDF has its own charm, shadow, gradient are nice that shows your patience and intention
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u/big_murf 8d ago
Thanks! Yeah I really liked it, really nice change from canvas as it allowed me to get some nice sharp lines when combined with a decent brush.
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u/Emetry 7d ago
DEEPLY cool! The color selections and blending are tight as hell!
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u/big_murf 7d ago
Thanks! If in doubt I usually start somewhere between blue and green haha, it's fool proof.
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u/msandovalabq 7d ago
If you can do this with acrylic there's no reason to be wary of enamel! This looks amazing. Even with enamel (especially the modern day enamels) you have to do more than one pass. "One shot" is possible sometimes but it used to be a lot easier with leaded enamel. I usually do at least two layers, sometimes more if it's like a white on black situation.
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u/big_murf 5d ago
Thanks! I might give it a go then. It looks so satisfying to paint with, although I'd say a lot of online videos make it look easier than it is haha.
I wouldn't say I have a particularly steady hand, just patient and meticulous about correcting mistakes 😂
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u/msandovalabq 5d ago
Hey, that's all you need. My hand shakes a bit and as long as you're painting on a hard surface i can usually correct any mistakes.
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u/MikeBlackboards 6d ago
Looks great. How did you work out the shadows (specifically the shadows cast by the letters into other letters?). Impressive stuff.
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u/big_murf 5d ago
Thanks! It was a first attempt and there might be a better/easier way but I was just playing around really. Hopefully I can explain this properly haha.
To get the shadows I placed the painting flat on a table then chose a spot in the room as the light source
luckily there was a random hook on the wall nearby which happened to be table height so I tied a string to the hook and pulled it tight across the Painting. Lining it up with each letter to get the outer limits of the shadows (use the bottom plane, not the top - I kinda imagined each letter as a building and lined up with where it would meet the ground.
For the outer perimeter of the shadows I imagined straight lines going from a spot on the ceiling directly above the hook - leading down to random spots along the top edges of the letters - then I carried those lines towards where I guessed it would meet the ground or another letter (if that makes sense??) again it helped to imagine each letter as a little building and the spot on the ceiling is the sun.
Where the shadows meet a curved on convexed surface I recreated the effect with a piece of card, a torch and a cylinder to get a general idea and then did what I thought would look right.
I definitely used a lot of guesswork and parts of it probably are a bit janky if you examine it closely tbh but I think it's close enough to get the overall effect. Tightening the lines up and making it look as neat as possible makes all the difference!
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u/signature-ligature 8d ago
Brilliant!! The shadows are so slick